It is known to maintain a plurality of conductors (e.g. flat or round copper conductors) in a sandwich between insulating strips, thereby constituting flat cables. It is also known to strip a portion of such cables to make connections to the conductors. Further, it is known to use insulating strips which include openings (whether facing or otherwise) in order to make connections to the conductors. The bare conductors merely provide a contact surface. In order to obtain an electrical contact, two contact surfaces must simultaneously be present and must press one against the other.
It is also known to use contacts which are cut out from a metal strip at the same pitch as the connector into which they are to be inserted. The great advantage of this technique is to enable a large number of contacts to be simultaneously inserted into a connector by means of relatively simple tools. However, there remains the considerable problem of detaching the individual contacts from the portions of web that remain after the cutting out operation in order to electrically isolate the contacts from one other. This requires a separation operation followed by transfer into a bezel prior to insertion of the now-independent contacts into the connectors.
It is also known to mold the insulating body of the connector over a plurality of contacts. This is a relatively long and expensive technique since it requires a mold and prior guidance of the contacts.
None of these arrangements is capable of providing a multi-terminal connector of high quality at a cost price comparable to that provided by the present invention.